page_title: Tatarstan
section_title: Religion
hierarchical_section_title: Tatarstan / Demographics / Religion
caption_attribution_description: This is a photo of a cultural heritage object in Russia, number: 1610053000 This template and pages using it are maintained by the Russian WLM team. Please read the guidelines before making any changes that can affect the monuments database!
context_page_description: The Republic of Tatarstan, or simply Tatarstan, is a federal subject of the Russian Federation, located in the Volga Federal District. Its capital is the city of Kazan.
  The republic borders Kirov, Ulyanovsk, Samara, and Orenburg Oblasts, the Mari El, Udmurt, and Chuvash Republics, and the Republic of Bashkortostan. The area of the republic is 68,000 square kilometres. The unofficial Tatarstan motto is Bez Buldırabız!. As of the 2010 Census, the population of Tatarstan was 3,786,488.
  The state has strong cultural ties with its eastern neighbor, the Republic of Bashkortostan.
  The state languages of the Republic of Tatarstan are Tatar and Russian.
context_section_description: Established in 922, the first Muslim state within the boundaries of modern Russia was Volga Bulgaria from which the Tatars inherited Islam. Islam was introduced by missionaries from Baghdad around the time of Ibn Fadlan's journey in 922. Islam's long presence in Russia also extends at least as far back as the conquest of the Khanate of Kazan in 1552, which brought the Tatars and Bashkirs on the Middle Volga into Russia.
  In the 1430s, the region became independent as the base of the Khanate of Kazan, a capital having been established in Kazan, 170 km up the Volga from the ruined capital of the Bulgars. The Khanate of Kazan was conquered by the troops of Tsar Ivan IV the Terrible in the 1550s, with Kazan being taken in 1552. Some Tatars were forcibly converted to Christianity and cathedrals were built in Kazan; by 1593, mosques in the area were destroyed. The Russian government forbade the construction of mosques, a prohibition that was not lifted until the 18th century by Catherine II.
  When it comes to religion, Islam is the most common faith in Tatarstan, as, 48.8% of the estimated 3.8 million population is Muslim while the remaining population is mostly Russian Orthodox Christian and non-religious.
  In 1990, there were only 100 mosques but the number, as of 2004, rose to well over 1,000. As of January 1, 2008, as many as 1,398 religious organizations were registered in Tatarstan, of which 1,055 were Muslim. Islam is the most common faith in Tatarstan, as, according one study, 38.8% of the population is Muslim. In September 2010, Eid al-Fitr as well May 21, the day the Volga Bulgars embraced Islam, were made public holidays. Tatarstan also hosted an international Muslim film festival which screened over 70 films from 28 countries including Jordan, Afghanistan, and Egypt.
  The Russian Orthodox Church is the second largest active religion in Tatarstan, and has been so for more than 150 years, with an estimated 1.6 million followers made up of ethnic Russians, Mordvins, Armenians, Belarusians, Mari people, Georgians, Chuvash and a number of Orthodox Tatars which together constitute 45% of the 3.8 million population of Tatarstan. On 23 August 2010, the "Orthodox monuments of Tatarstan" exhibition was held in Kazan by the Tatarstan Ministry of Culture and the Kazan Eparchy. At all public events, an Orthodox Priest is called upon along with an Islamic Mufti.
  The Muslim Religious Board of Tatarstan frequently organizes activities, like the 'Islamic graffiti Contest' which was held on November 20, 2011.
caption: Qolşärif Mosque in Kazan
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